Save the Children’s President and CEO Carolyn Miles released the
following statement today:

February 27, 2013 01:27 PM Eastern Standard Time

WESTPORT, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Just two weeks ago, President Obama pledged that as a nation we need to
“come together to protect our most precious resource – our children.” It
is a travesty that, unless Congress and the President can reach an
agreement, we are only hours away from nearly $85 billion in automatic,
across-the-board funding cuts, halting crucial efforts to protect and
provide for children in the United States and around the world.

We urge our leaders to do what we teach the preschoolers in Save the
Children’s programs every day: play nice, get along and work it out.
Time is running out for Congress and the President to set aside politics
and do what it takes to ensure that the most vulnerable among us, our
children, are not the ones who pay the price of the looming budget cuts.

Children’s programs make up a fraction of the budget, but cutting them
will have a negative impact on entire lives and futures. Without an
agreement by our country’s leaders, children around the world and right
here in America will face the following risks:

Around the world:1

• More than 1 million children will go without preventative treatment
from life-threatening diseases like pneumonia.

• More than 350,000 orphaned and vulnerable children will miss out on
getting the boost they need through good nutrition, schooling and
economic opportunities.

• 111,000 fewer HIV-positive pregnant women will receive Prevention of
Mother to Child Transmission services, leading to more than 21,000
babies being infected with HIV.

In America:2

• More than 2,700 schools will lose critical federal funds, affecting
nearly 1.2 million students in need.

• 70,000 young children will lose access to early learning services, and
over 10,000 teachers could lose their jobs.

• Up to 30,000 children will lose access to child care.

• Roughly 600,000 mothers and children will be dropped from the WIC
(Women, Infants and Children) feeding program through the end of
September 2013, threatening their health and nutrition.

At Save the Children, we know first-hand the difference that investments
in early learning programs can make in helping children get ready for
and succeed in school. We have also made tremendous progress in reducing
the number of young children dying from treatable and preventable causes
and are dedicated to making the promise of an AIDS-free generation a
reality. Save the Children has long advocated for more resources and
investments in such programs.

At a time when nearly one in four children in America lives in poverty,
and vulnerable girls and boys around the world face disease, hunger and
unspeakable violence, making deep and disproportionate cuts to
child-focused programs is unconscionable. It is true that difficult
choices must be made to reduce our deficit, but our leaders must not
balance the budget on the backs of children.

Save
the Children is the leading independent organization for
children in need, with programs in more than 120 countries, including
the United States. We aim to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world
treats children, and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their
lives by improving their health, education and economic opportunities.
In times of acute crisis, we mobilize rapid assistance to help children
recover from the effects of war, conflict and natural disasters. Follow
us on Twitter
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